Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC yesterday forwarded to Commissioner of Police (ag) Nigel Hoppie a special audit done by the Auditor General’s Office on the controversial rental of a Sussex Street bond under the former APNU+AFC government.
In the letter, Nandlall cited the finding by the audit office that a police investigation be done of the matter and that criminal charges be instituted where necessary.
He ended the correspondence with the following request “Please execute the said recommendation”.
The special audit is contained in the 2019 Auditor General’s report which was tabled in the National Assembly yesterday. Nandlall released a copy of the special audit on Saturday.
The audit office recommended that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) conduct an in-depth investigation into the Health Ministry’s rental of the Sussex Street, Charlestown drug bond under the former government as well as institute charges where necessary.
The Office has also requested that the Ministry of Legal Affairs advise the Ministry of Health to bring closure to this matter since it appears that there is a $137.5 million balance in rental payments owed for use of the property.
The bond, which was leased from businessman Larry Singh, has been the subject of controversy since it was revealed in the National Assembly’s Committee of Supply that it had been rented for $12.5 million a month as part of an emergency procurement and then left empty for two months.
It was Nandlall who first brought the issue to the public’s attention when he questioned then Minister of Public Health Dr George Norton about the particulars of the procurement.
